Mom can we bake some chocolate chip cookies?

The answer to this question meant looking into my dreaded pantry. You know the one where I have no idea if we have all the ingredients needed because I’ve been putting off organizing that space for what feels like my entire existence as a Mother.

This is not something I’m proud of and would rather keep to myself but surely I can’t be the only person with a disaster of a pantry, right?!  Confess with me, My name is_____ and I can’t tell you how long this box of crackers has been in my pantry!

Ok kids, today is “The DAY” sorry you can’t bake cookies, because I didn’t know we were out of chocolate chips, brown sugar and oats. What the heck is this mess? I’m so sick of not knowing what I have and what is behind that closet door!

Time for a good old fashioned clean up and organization. Everything must come out and be used before anything new can go in!

I went onto Amazon and ordered these awesome mesh baskets from YBM Home. I also ordered this Simple Houseware sliding drawers with baskets, and just to be sure I had enough baskets I also bought some medium mesh bins  and a large mesh bin. I’ve added the links for you to check out because these bins are awesome. I love how you can see what’s inside but nothing falls through!

As I said before – everything must come out – so here it is, everything!

It’s crazy to me to think how many duplicates of open boxes or packages we had. Talk about wasting money. My anxiety is in overdrive when things aren’t organized so this was a mission that had to be done.

I have to admit I know I’m getting older when an organized pantry makes me happy! Here are some pictures of the de-cluttering and organizing I did. This took one afternoon and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off.  

Christmas is just around the corner and with that brings on extra food, more clutter and a little bit of chaos. Knowing this is organized and ready for what we throw in there, will help me stay calmer and enjoy the magic of Christmas more!

To answer the question of how long has the box of crackers been in my pantry well… lets just say the best before date was from – yikes 3 years ago!

My goal now is to do a pantry de-clutter at least twice a year. How many times do you organize and go through your pantry. Do you have any old hidden treasures hiding in the back corner? How do you stay organized?